Tandy Corp

CHANGING DIRECTION. The Tandy Corp., one of the country's largest makers and retailers of consumer electronics, says that it will announce an important shift in its marketing strategy at a meeting in Dallas Tuesday. But the company denied a report in the Dallas Morning News that the restructuring will include closing 100 of its 350 computer stores. ''It may be the announcement of a break between Radio Shack and the computer stores,'' said analyst Barry Bryant of Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc..

PARIS --Tire maker Michelin said Thursday that it is planning to cut 1,880 jobs over the next three years at four French factories as part of a productivity drive it announced last September. The job cuts announced Thursday are part of previously disclosed plans to cut 7,500 jobs across Europe. Employees affected by the French factory job cut plan will be offered either early retirement or another position within the company. Michelin had said last year the planned European job cuts were needed as part of a drive to raise productivity by 20 percent within three years.

TANDY CORP. and Casio Computer Co. said Wednesday they will work together to design and sell pocket-sized electronic devices that would use electronic pens rather than keyboards. They join several other companies using digital technology to create a class of consumer electronics called personal information processors or personal digital assistants.

Tandy Corp. is changing its name to RadioShack Corp. in what the company called a sign of confidence in the future of its electronics stores. Tandy, based in Fort Worth, Texas, owns or franchises about 7,100 RadioShack stores nationwide, selling electronics, phones, computers and gadgets.

TANDY CORP. on Thursday plans to introduce the ''PalmPad,'' a computer small enough to be strapped to your wrist. The computer reads handwritten information and weighs 2.8 pounds, about half that of many ''pen computers'' on the market.

Tandy Corp. is changing its name to RadioShack Corp. in what the company called a sign of confidence in the future of its electronics stores. Tandy, based in Fort Worth, Texas, owns or franchises about 7,100 RadioShack stores nationwide, selling electronics, phones, computers and gadgets.

MELBOURNE-BASED Harris Corp. has agreed to buy Compression Labs Inc. of San Jose, Calif. Price: More than $5 million. CLI will become part of the government communications systems division of Harris. . . . Jack Eckerd Corp., based in Clearwater, has agreed in principle to sell most of the assets of its American Home Video Corp. subsidiary. Buyer: Tandy Corp. After-tax proceeds: About $100 million. American Home Video operates 207 VideoConcepts stores in 29 states.

Senior executives from more than 40 major U.S. business corporations dined with Cuba's President Fidel Castro and peppered him with questions about politics, economics and his own personal views, participants said Saturday. Witnesses, who asked not to be identified, said the Cuban leader, accompanied by senior aides, hosted the dinner Friday evening for the visiting U.S. businessmen, in Cuba on a ''news tour'' organized by Time Inc. Chief executives from U.S. companies including Sears, Hyatt Corp.

ETERNAL LIGHT. DioLight Technology said it had been awarded a patent for production of a light bulb that burns for 60,000 to 80,000 hours. Comparison: A conventional bulb burns for 750 hours. DioLight, based in Pontiac, Mich., said its ''Forever'' bulb has a built-in diode that converts alternating current to direct current. The result: Less heat and vibration. The company said it is marketing the bulb to General Motors Corp., Tandy Corp. and General Electric Co. -- and ''can barely keep up with demand.

Charles Schwab & Co., the nation's largest discount brokerage, has published a catalog for individuals who prefer making their own investment decisions.The catalog lists books and computer programs that can be purchased through Charles Schwab, but the publication is not limited to the brokerage's products. The free catalog, InvestorSource, includes aids of the American Association of Individual Investors; Dow Jones Inc., which publishes The Wall Street Journal; Money magazine; Tandy Corp.

MURRAY HILL, N.J. - Lucent Technologies Inc., the top seller of phone equipment in North America, said third-quarter profit more than doubled, beating expectations, on strong sales of products that let phone networks carry more information. Profit before charges was $435 million, or 32 cents a diluted share, compared with a profit of $213 million, or 17 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose to $7.23 billion, up 14 percent from a year earlier.ALLSTATECHICAGO - Allstate Corp.'s profit jumped 37.6 percent in the second quarter as new auto, home and life insurance customers offset a surge in claims paid compared with last year.

ALBRIGHT AGAIN VOWS HELP FOR CARIBBEAN ECONOMIES PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad - Repeating a pledge made a year ago, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright vowed Monday to fight for trade benefits for Caribbean nations that were rejected by Congress. She spoke at a follow-up meeting to a May 1997 Caribbean-U.S. summit, where President Clinton agreed to link the war against drugs to helping develop island economies through trade. Caribbean nations have lost thousands of jobs, mainly in the low-wage garment industry, because of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

Senior executives from more than 40 major U.S. business corporations dined with Cuba's President Fidel Castro and peppered him with questions about politics, economics and his own personal views, participants said Saturday. Witnesses, who asked not to be identified, said the Cuban leader, accompanied by senior aides, hosted the dinner Friday evening for the visiting U.S. businessmen, in Cuba on a ''news tour'' organized by Time Inc. Chief executives from U.S. companies including Sears, Hyatt Corp.

TANDY CORP. and Casio Computer Co. said Wednesday they will work together to design and sell pocket-sized electronic devices that would use electronic pens rather than keyboards. They join several other companies using digital technology to create a class of consumer electronics called personal information processors or personal digital assistants.

TANDY CORP. on Thursday plans to introduce the ''PalmPad,'' a computer small enough to be strapped to your wrist. The computer reads handwritten information and weighs 2.8 pounds, about half that of many ''pen computers'' on the market.

Charles Schwab & Co., the nation's largest discount brokerage, has published a catalog for individuals who prefer making their own investment decisions.The catalog lists books and computer programs that can be purchased through Charles Schwab, but the publication is not limited to the brokerage's products. The free catalog, InvestorSource, includes aids of the American Association of Individual Investors; Dow Jones Inc., which publishes The Wall Street Journal; Money magazine; Tandy Corp.

PARIS --Tire maker Michelin said Thursday that it is planning to cut 1,880 jobs over the next three years at four French factories as part of a productivity drive it announced last September. The job cuts announced Thursday are part of previously disclosed plans to cut 7,500 jobs across Europe. Employees affected by the French factory job cut plan will be offered either early retirement or another position within the company. Michelin had said last year the planned European job cuts were needed as part of a drive to raise productivity by 20 percent within three years.

ALBRIGHT AGAIN VOWS HELP FOR CARIBBEAN ECONOMIES PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad - Repeating a pledge made a year ago, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright vowed Monday to fight for trade benefits for Caribbean nations that were rejected by Congress. She spoke at a follow-up meeting to a May 1997 Caribbean-U.S. summit, where President Clinton agreed to link the war against drugs to helping develop island economies through trade. Caribbean nations have lost thousands of jobs, mainly in the low-wage garment industry, because of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

CHANGING DIRECTION. The Tandy Corp., one of the country's largest makers and retailers of consumer electronics, says that it will announce an important shift in its marketing strategy at a meeting in Dallas Tuesday. But the company denied a report in the Dallas Morning News that the restructuring will include closing 100 of its 350 computer stores. ''It may be the announcement of a break between Radio Shack and the computer stores,'' said analyst Barry Bryant of Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc..